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Fleshpyre – Unburying the Horses of War (2018)REVIEW

The sharp performances and thoughtful guitar work of Fleshpyre comes with no small amount of dedication from these longtime technical death metal musicians from Brazil. Featuring some members of long-forgotten technical death metal band Coral de Espíritos comes ‘Unburying the Horses of War’ a reservedly brilliant half hour of old school technical death metal. If you’re already familiar with ‘Whisper of Dead Light’ then some of that Atheist inspired riffing is also felt here, though decade of experience offers a more precise and expressive performance. As technical death metal bands begin to lean towards progressive structures to remain palatable by listeners now savvy and likewise saturated by sweep-picking and gravity blasted variations many musicians are finding themselves outed as decent songwriters with maturing musical vision. ‘Unburying the Horses of War’ may not be the most thrilling display of technical death metal on the market but it’s style drips with confidence and an ear for memorable riffing.

After spending some time with the album I found myself mostly coming back to comparisons with Psycroptic‘s ‘The Scepter of the Ancients’ with the same sort of strenuously tensile dynamics within Fleshpyre‘s sound. ‘Unburying the Horses of War’ is certainly less relentless but equally effective at blending in unexpected technical and non-brutal elements within their attack. Likewise with Anata‘s ‘The Conductor’s Departure’ and Trauma‘s ‘Imperfect Like a God’ as it balanced the brutal and the spaced-out to similar effect while remaining technically proficient.

It certainly isn’t a perfect album and the band lose some of their intrigue and steam towards the end of the record. “March of Defeat” feels redundant by the time it plays and most of the thrill of the record is finished by the time “Fleshpyre”, a great standout track, is done playing. The syncopated riffing of the titled track and it’s adulterated ‘Unquestionable Presence’-esque composition is a huge sell for my taste. “Nous” and “The Wanderer” show both progressive prowess as well as some limitations in terms of expanding beyond their core sound. The balance of the thoughtfully technical and the eruptive brutality moments aren’t completely worked out here but neither side of the band disappoints. An impressive debut from a talented independent band, so here’s hoping they’re back at work on more music soon.

NOTE: Check the band’s Facebook page (linked below) for information about the album as well as a download link for free. If you do download it, don’t hesitate to tell them how much you liked it. Support this type of talented independent artist if you can even if it’s only encouragement or praise.